Various types of semiconductor fabrication processing apparatuses, i.e. tools, are used to perform various processing operations upon semiconductor substrates in the manufacture/fabrication of semiconductor devices. Regardless of the processing operation carried out in the semiconductor manufacturing tool, the processing chambers within which the processing operations take place, are maintained at a desired temperature in order to efficiently carry out the processing upon the substrates and also to avoid equipment problems associated with the system becoming too hot or cold.
In order to maintain the manufacturing tool at a desired temperature level, fluids such as water, various other coolants, and various other fluids with high thermal conductivities, are used to flow throughout the manufacturing tools in fluid circulation systems to maintain the processing chambers at desired temperatures. If the flow levels within the heating or cooling loops are too high or too low, the temperature of the processing chamber may become too hot or too cold. This results in misprocessing of the substrates. This also results in various mechanical failures such as the melting of components of a fabrication tool, when a flow rate of cooling fluid, for example, is too low. Flow monitoring systems are used in conjunction with such heating and cooling fluid circulation systems.